MASSACHUSETTS EMULATES CHICAGO: 1998 Gun-Ban Law Made It Safe For Criminals, Spiking Murders and Violent Crime

Massachusetts' murder rate has risen much faster than that of its neighbors or the US rate since the 1998 firearms licensing bill

Massachusetts has a national reputation as a bastion of gun control, but crimes and injuries related to firearms have risen — sometimes dramatically — since the state passed a comprehensive package of gun laws in 1998.

Murders committed with firearms have increased significantly, aggravated assaults and robberies involving guns have risen, and gunshot injuries are up, according to FBI and state data.

...In 2011, Massachusetts recorded 122 murders committed with firearms, a striking increase from the 65 in 1998, said Fox, the Northeastern professor. Nationwide, such murders increased only 3 percent from 1999 to 2010, the CDC says.

There were increases in other crimes involving guns in Massachusetts, too. From 1998 to 2011, aggravated assaults with guns rose 26.7 percent. Robberies with firearms increased 20.7 percent during that period, according to an FBI analysis conducted for the Globe...

The pointy-head academics like to blame neighboring states on their totalitarian failures. In that case, I would ask, why is Indianapolis significantly less violent than Chicago? And why are New Hampshire and Vermont safer than Massachusetts?